One Piece Chapter 731 – Welcome Back Sabo and Koala

December 13, 2013 by Syphin 1 Comment

Creating waves all around the world, Ace’s death and those carrying on his will

I was wondering how Oda-sensei would follow-up the magnificent chapter of last week and my goodness, my freaking goodness, he did it, he shocked us even more and left us in awe once again, in a complete and euphoric state of awe. I can’t believe he was able to get all of that in a 19 page chapter, so many developments took place, what a mangaka Oda-sensei. Ah I am tearing up, I was hoping Sabo would appear this arc and I was hoping Koala would appear at some point during the story but both together in the same chapter, ah I can’t help but be left in a state of numb. And as such the extent and sheer weight of how glorious these developments are has not fully been realised by my body yet, but even so, my ear-to-ear wide smile is reacting overwhelmingly. Oh man, Luffy has another reason to smash Doflamingo’s face in now, Mingo is so going down.

Bartolomeo, he is full of surprises ain’t he? To think he had such a pure and kind heart…the World Government sure are dropping the ball when it comes to reading and evaluating people, I guess this is why it was so easy for Blackbeard to trick them. But wow, I didn’t think Bartolomeo was so enchanted by Luffy, though I guess if he were following Luffy’s journey with the same thoroughness as the readers of One Piece, it is no wonder Bartolomeo is so taken by Luffy and his presence. I’m liking Bartolomeo more and more now – he’ll never let a friend rot! Perfect Strawhat alliance member right there. Mihawk was right with Luffy having one of the most dangerous powers – his ability to draw in comrades. Just like Rayleigh, Hancock, King Neptune and Law, Bartolomeo has become one of the Strawhats alliance members.

Sugar the Hobi Hobi no Mi user

I was worried that Franky, Usopp, Robin and the Riku army would be severely lacking in interesting match-ups compared to the other two groups, but now that it has been revealed that the source of the toy transformations, the Hobi Hobi no Mi user, ‘Sugar’ is among the Donquixote family members at the SMILE Factory, things just became a whole lot more interesting, especially when the toy transformation on the Dressrosa residents will be broken once Sugar is rendered unconscious (I hope it is Robin who ‘scares’ her). The fact that Trébol is also there guarding Sugar sets up a great platform for Franky to show the results of his two years worth of preparations. The unknown reaction of the Dressrosa residents once they regain their human forms and everything else surrounding the potential chaos which will result including Doflamingo’s reactions, makes the movements of Franky, Usopp, Robin and the Riku army quite exciting.

Just like a real Luffy fan, represent Bartolomeo!!

With Bellamy now aware of his insignificance to Doflamingo at least he has offered to help Luffy out of the Colosseum. Still Bartolomeo, ahahahah, his reactions to Luffy being in his presence are hilarious; foaming at the mouth, fainting, not being able to look at Luffy due to his “radiance”, getting weak in the knees when Luffy talks to him, every reaction he has when faced with Luffy is just gold. I have a feeling Bartolomeo and Hancock would get along just fine, they can even start-up their own Luffy fan club, I know I’d join =D. Admirable of Bartolomeo to reassure Luffy with his resolve to win the Mera Mera no Mi for him and once again hilarious how Bartolomeo acted in response to the mysterious character (Sabo) getting chummy with Luffy.

He is back…/tear

Luffy’s reaction said it all, he is back, the man himself who we were led to believe had died back in the Goa Kingdom…SABO IS ALIVE!! Just wow, what a twist, what an emotionally awesome twist. The chapter 668 cover page had given us readers hope that Sabo were alive (the three sake cups on Ace’s grave) and now finally we get confirmation! Luffy is even more fired-up now to crush Doflamingo as he now knows the Mera Mera no Mi is nothing to worry about now. I was going with Rebecca to get the Mera Mera no Mi but now that Sabo is back and that he has expressly shown interest and desire in getting the Mera Mera no Mi, it is almost a certainty that he will be the one get it.

Koala, memories of Tiger Fishers flashback came rushing in the moment I seen her name. I cried intensely when I read how broken she was after Fisher freed her from the Tenryuubito and how he helped heal her mental and emotional scars she suffered as a slave. Recalling those memories made me cry again, I am so happy she has come back into the story. So she joined the Revolutionary Army, presumably which Sabo is also affiliated with, things have just gotten a lot more interesting. On top of the Shichibukai, Marines including an Admiral, Yonko, famous pirates (Bartolomeo, Chinjao), a former Tenryuubito (Doflamingo), the will of “D”, Wano Kuni Samurai, we now have the Revolutionary Army. This arc is just exploding in scope and quality with each twist, and I am loving it!

My body just went numb from over excitement here…who else has Oda-sensei hidden in the shadows?

Back to Koala, what a pleasant surprise it is that she knows Robin, I wonder if Robin also met Sabo during the two years she spent with the Revolutionary Army. Koala is a substitute teacher of Fishman Karate? So she did visit the Fishman again and is honoring the principles Fisher Tiger stood for, she is awesome! I look forward to the day when Koala and Jinbe can meet again, unless of course they already have and Jinbe is somewhere on Dressrosa as well. Well he could be out in the sea helping Sanji against Big Mom’s crew, that would be awesome =P.

Ace’s death really did send waves throughout the world, his will motioned many people into action and it appears all of that is converging in Dressrosa where Luffy will reveal to the pirates of the New World, to the World Government, to the Marines, to the general public around the world, and even to the Revolutionary Army that he IS going to be the one who finds ONE PIECE.

If we assume that Sabo is part of the Revolutionary Army as well, which is highly likely, then we can make a theory about where Sabo was two years ago during Ace’s execution. Shanks was the one who stopped the Marineford War, but before that he was held up by Kaidou who tried to take advantage of Ace’s execution to attack Whitebeard. The fact that Shanks arrived at Marineford means that Kaidou was forced to retreat. It could have been Sabo and the Revolutionary Army who helped Shanks fight off Kaido enabling Shanks to arrive at Marineford in time to stop the war – there is a reason for why this battle hasn’t been covered in detailed yet I feel. Also during Whitebeard and Ace’s funeral (chapter 590), Shanks was wishing for Luffy overcoming his despair as if he knew there was something for Luffy to fight towards – his meeting with Sabo perhaps?

I had expected the Revolutionary Army to make an appearance when I read the start of this arc but after so many developments twisted me, I had forgotten about them. The motives of the Revolutionary Army haven’t been revealed yet, but they seek to liberate nations from corrupt and twisted governments as well as stop the government systems involving the World Nobles and slavery. Dressrosa under its fun and luxurious appearance is actually a very twisted and wretched nation, especially with the issues involving the toys and the Corrida Colosseum. Doflamingo is an important figure in the underworld and has much influence in the New World, the Revolutionary Army likely realises this and they probably are aware of the existence of the SMILE factory and the danger it serves towards the world and future they envision. Therefore it is expected that they are present in Dressrosa to stop the SMILE factory and Doflamingo =D. Very much looking forward to the next chapter.